Just to clarify, I’m talking about Paris, Las Vegas, not Paris, France.

Last week, Home Warrior and I went to Vegas for a long weekend. We were trying to spend less money on our hotel than we have in the past, so instead of staying in one of the MGM-Mirage properties (which are very nice, but pricier) we chose Paris. I found it on Hotels.com, and we got a deal for about $100 a night. Not bad for over the weekend, right in the middle of the strip. Or at least we hoped.

Once we arrived, we asked if it was possible to get a room facing the Bellagio so we could see the fountains. Not surprisingly, everyone asks for this, so they charged for it. The nice lady showed us the options: 1) an un-renovated room, facing the Bellagio, for $60 more per night, or 2) a renovated room for $100 a night. In addition, we got access to the Lounge, which has adult beverages and continental breakfast and dinner every day. She definitely discouraged us from getting the un-renovated room, but we figured we wouldn’t be in there that much so why pay double our original cost just for a nice room.

First of all, as soon as we got into our room, we were amazed.  I honestly was expecting a super dated, kind of crappy, dingy room with a great view. What I got was a clean, slightly dated room with a comfortable bed (with a duvet, not the old-style comforter like it shows in the website pictures), amazing view, and fantastic bathroom. There was a loveseat and chair that we turned around to face the window, and sat and watched the Bellagio fountains whenever we were in the room. If you “opened” the windows (once you get there you will know what I mean) you can hear the music from across the street, or noise from the pool, but if they are closed you can’t hear anything at all, despite being in the middle of the strip.

And the Lounge? It was fantastic. Continental breakfast included bagels with cream cheese and lox, pastries, yogurt with granola, and great coffee. Dinner included sandwiches, shrimp, fantastic desserts, and warm entrees. Plus you could have up to two adult beverages per day. The food was great.

Then we found out that as part of our Hotels.com package we had included two 24-hour buffet passes. These are a $40 value, which is actually still a great deal. At the buffets, breakfasts are around $15, lunch $18, and dinner $24. If you get the 24-hour pass, you can go to one of the buffets at seven different hotels (incl. Paris, Flamingo, Harrah’s, and Balley’s) as many times as you want. Yes, there are always lines, but the food was very good and the value can’t be beat. However I don’t know if I could have done that more than one day–buffets can be pretty overwhelming!!

One other thing–I spent some time at the pool and loved it. It is way smaller than pools at the Mirage or Treasure Island, but it is much calmer and less crowded. For people just going to relax, be in the water, and get some sun (as opposed to going somewhere to be “seen”) it is the best casino pool I have been to.

Overall, Home Warrior and I agree that we got a heck of a deal. We loved the location of our hotel, our view, the fabulous bathroom, and we only had to pay for food twice the whole trip. Not bad, not bad at all.